B.C. adding consent education resources to school curriculum

In what’s touted to be a step toward preventing gender-based violence, the B.C. government is looking to educate school children about consent.

The Ministry of Education and Child Care says it is updating the kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum to include resources that “will support educators in teaching consent with an age-appropriate and non-discriminatory approach in the classroom.”

Read More: B.C. to get $3 million for gender based violence crisis hotlines

Education minister Jennifer Whiteside says it’s important to teach students about healthy sexual relationships and the importance of consent.

“These expanded guides, created with input from educators, will give teachers more tools to have the important discussions around consent and gender-based violence in their classrooms,” she said.

The province says it consulted with parents, students and educators and updated teaching guides for elementary and high schools.

The guidance for elementary schools suggests teachers include discussions about consent in regular interactions, such as asking for permission to hug a friend.

For middle schools, the guidance will surround how to identify dangerous behaviours in a relationship, which will continue into high school.

Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, Grace Lore, says consultations showed that it was crucial that age-appropriate information is available for students.

“We need to normalize consent, and support teachers in normalizing consent, as a part of our everyday lives and support our young people treating themselves and others safely with dignity and respect,” she said.

Government should collaborate with community partners, advocate says

Saying the update to the curriculum is “good news” in addressing domestic and intimate partner violence, a community advocate says the B.C. government announcement falls short on some details.

Executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services in Vancouver, Angela Marie MacDougall, questions why teachers will be the ones administering the additional education.

“We have to really recognize that there’s a lot of pressure put on teachers, increasingly so, and that’s why I was surprised to see that there wasn’t funding tied to this announcement,” she told CityNews.

“I would expect that there would be some dollars and cents that would be tied to some kind of change like this if it’s going to be a meaningful change.”

MacDougall says she fears consent won’t be taught in a uniform way across school boards. She says she would like to see more collaboration between schools and community-based organizations that deal with domestic violence.

“People often think about adults and violence and in relationships with adults. We know that youth relationships right now in Metro Vancouver, have similar rates as adults,” MacDougall explained. “This is an important opportunity for us to put that on the table, create some space for youth in an institutionalized way because I think for all too long, this kind of program has been kind of a one-off.”

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Although she feels that there are unanswered questions, MacDougall says she’s pleased to see the provincial government addressing the issue.

“That age-appropriate kind of education and information [not only] helps to build stronger communities, but also for individuals to feel more empowered to set boundaries and to have increased a kind of solid healthy relationships with friendships,” she said.